Flexist ski

Vishnu wets or line blend

H E A D
S U P E R S H A P E ! ! !

You can thank me later.

J skis vacation

Bdog edgeless

Def this nothing else comes close

CatdickBojanglesBdog edgeless

Volkl Racetiger

Rossignol sassy 7

It actually depends a bit. The softest ski in the tips/tails I can think of since the EP pro is the Blend, I'm riding the new one at the moment and they are so damn soft. The Blend does stiffen a little as you move towards the center of the ski though. The Edgeless is close to as soft as the Blend, but it's a smoother flex, a touch stiffer in the tips/tails but doesn't stiffen as much as you move towards the center of the ski. The J Skis Vacation is also up there. It's super soft immediately in front of and behind the binding area but again, not as soft as the Blend in the extremes. To me personally, the Vacation feels the most 'unstable' of the three on landings because of its shape, which also makes it arguably the easiest to flex. The Vishnu Wet is a much stiffer ski than any of these other options, but its shape also makes it extremely easy to butter and play on. For me, it's the best ski for buttering on of these options.

comp skis

Can you elaborate a lil on how shapes affect different types of skiing primarily best shapes for buttering ...
I find more taper easier for the beginning rotation of a nose butter if your actually pressing during the initial rotation

TwigIt actually depends a bit. The softest ski in the tips/tails I can think of since the EP pro is the Blend, I'm riding the new one at the moment and they are so damn soft. The Blend does stiffen a little as you move towards the center of the ski though. The Edgeless is close to as soft as the Blend, but it's a smoother flex, a touch stiffer in the tips/tails but doesn't stiffen as much as you move towards the center of the ski. The J Skis Vacation is also up there. It's super soft immediately in front of and behind the binding area but again, not as soft as the Blend in the extremes. To me personally, the Vacation feels the most 'unstable' of the three on landings because of its shape, which also makes it arguably the easiest to flex. The Vishnu Wet is a much stiffer ski than any of these other options, but its shape also makes it extremely easy to butter and play on. For me, it's the best ski for buttering on of these options.

Blends are the "flexiest" but the shape of the Vishnu wets are best for buttering and all around fun.

SavageBiffCan you elaborate a lil on how shapes affect different types of skiing primarily best shapes for buttering ...
I find more taper easier for the beginning rotation of a nose butter if your actually pressing during the initial rotation

This all comes down to personal preference at the end of the day. But as a general rule, more rocker length (and height to a degree) makes initiating easier. Taper makes it easier to avoid catching (especially if you detune the whole edge in front of the tip taper, and behind the tail taper), and provides a wider platform on which to balance towards the center of the ski. Softer flexes make flexing the ski initially easier too, but are also easier to overpower. My personal preference is a ski with plenty of rocker tip and tail, a bit of taper, but a more solid flex.

To give some examples from the list of skis already mentioned:

The Blend has a decent amount of rocker, which makes initiation easier, and a super soft flex in the tip and tail making flexing the ski a breeze. However, they have a full sidecut, which I find means the tips catch occasionally if you aren't totally on it (more hooky) and I also find it hard not to overflex the skis when buttering at speed or trying to land with the skis flexed. They are also pretty torsionally soft, so I find myself twisting out when trying to hold butters for a longer time.

The BDog Edgeless has plenty of rocker, to initiate, taper so it's hard to catch/hook (as well as no edges, so you basically can't catch unless you get things horribly wrong). They are a touch stiffer in the extremes than the Blend too, so they are slightly harder to overflex, but that can still be an issue, as can washing out, because no edges means you don't have any 'grip' at all when buttering.

The Vishnu Wets/Wides don't have any taper but that's just about the only 'downside' when it comes to buttering around. The skis are stiff enough (though by no means stiff) that you don't overpower them and you can stall out butters for days, but plenty of rocker means they are incredibly easy to initiate butters on. They are also soft enough that you actually are flexing the ski, while providing plenty of pop out of butters too. The lack of taper can mean they do catch occasionally, but it feels like the huge rocker height helps alleviate this. I'm not quite sure why they don't smooth out the contact points a touch with a little taper given their target market, but for me, they are the best skis out if buttering is your number 1 priority.

**This post was edited on Mar 26th 2020 at 9:02:56am